Taro Hirose Signs With German Team
Former Red Wings left winger Taro Hirose has signed with EHC Munich of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, according to a team announcement.
Hirose, 28, spent last season playing out the back half of a two-year, two-way extension signed with Detroit in 2022. For the first time since turning pro in 2019, however, he was buried entirely in the minors with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, where the 5’10”, 170-lb playmaker had 27 assists and 36 points in 54 games. The Red Wings didn’t bring him back after reaching unrestricted free agency in July.
Hirose has appeared in 60 NHL regular season games, all with Detroit – most recently, a three-game call-up in March and April 2023. An undrafted free agent signing out of Michigan State, the Winnipeg native has been an AHL fixture, only logging a career-high 26 NHL appearances with the Wings in 2019-20.
Overall, the 2019 NCAA scoring champion posted four goals, 16 assists, 20 points, and a -17 rating in 60 games with Detroit in parts of five seasons. He joins a Munich roster highlighted by a few other former NHLers, namely Adam Brooks, Tobias Rieder, and Ben Smith.
Training Camp Cuts: 10/7/23
While teams have considerably whittled down their rosters compared to where they were just a weekend ago, there are still plenty more cuts to be made in the coming days. Here are today’s roster trimmings excluding earlier waiver placements.
Buffalo Sabres (via team Twitter)
D Ryan Johnson (to Rochester, AHL)
F Lukas Rousek (to Rochester, AHL)
Calgary Flames (via team release)
D Nick DeSimone (to Calgary, AHL)
F Mathias Emilio Pettersen (to Calgary, AHL)
F Martin Pospisil (to Calgary, AHL)
Carolina Hurricanes (per team release)
G Yaniv Perets (to Norfolk, ECHL)
Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)
D Marcus Bjork (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Jake Christiansen (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Joshua Dunne (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Brendan Gaunce (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Carson Meyer (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Billy Sweezey (to Cleveland, AHL)
Dallas Stars (via team Twitter)
D Alexander Petrovic (to Texas, AHL)
Detroit Red Wings (via team Twitter)
F Austin Czarnik (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Timothy Gettinger (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Taro Hirose (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G John Lethemon (to Toledo, ECHL)
D Jared McIsaac (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Wyatt Newpower (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Brogan Rafferty (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Nolan Stevens (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
Nashville Predators (per ESPN’s John Buccigross)
D Marc Del Gaizo (to Milwaukee, AHL)
New Jersey Devils (via team Twitter)
D Santeri Hatakka (to Utica, AHL)
G Isaac Poulter (to Utica, AHL)
New York Rangers (per team Twitter)
F Jonny Brodzinski (to Hartford, AHL)
D Ben Harpur (to Hartford, AHL)
Philadelphia Flyers (via team Twitter)
F Wade Allison (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
San Jose Sharks (via team Twitter)
F Ryan Carpenter (to San Jose, AHL)
F Oskar Lindblom (to San Jose, AHL)
F Quentin Musty (to Sudbury, OHL)
F Jacob Peterson (to San Jose, AHL)
Seattle Kraken (per team Twitter)
D Ryker Evans (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
F Shane Wright (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
Washington Capitals (per team Twitter)
F Nicolas Aube-Kubel (to Hershey, AHL)
G Mitchell Gibson (to Hershey, AHL)
F Alex Limoges (to Hershey, AHL)
D Dylan McIlrath (to Hershey, AHL)
F Joe Snively (to Hershey, AHL)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to Hershey, AHL)
G Hunter Shepard (to Hershey, AHL)
This post will be updated throughout the day.
Detroit Red Wings Recall Taro Hirose On Emergency Basis
The Detroit Red Wings have recalled forward Taro Hirose from their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, on an emergency basis.
Hirose last played in the NHL on March 28th, when he skated in just under eight minutes of ice time in a 7-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. MLive’s Ansar Khan reports that Hirose skated in Adam Erne‘s spot as head coach Derek Lalonde’s third-line left winger next to Joe Veleno and Alex Chiasson since Erne was not at the morning skate.
The 26-year-old has been an up-and-down reserve player for the Red Wings since the 2018-19 season, when he scored seven points in his first 10 NHL games after signing his entry-level contract.
Before that point, Hirose tore the Big 10 apart at Michigan State University, especially in his third season in East Lansing. Hirose finished with 116 points in 106 games as a Spartan, but his most impressive achievements came in his final year there. In 2018-19 Hirose scored 15 goals and 50 points in 36 games. His performance that year led to him being named Big 10 Player of the Year, a First-Team All-American, and a Hobey Baker Award finalist.
While Hirose hasn’t managed to find NHL success yet in his career, he has translated his impressive NCAA production to the AHL level. Hirose leads AHL Grand Rapids with 56 points in 69 games this season and has 164 points in 192 career AHL games.
So, with two games remaining in their season, Detroit has decided to reward Hirose for his leading AHL contributions with an NHL call-up and the chance to skate on the third line for Detroit’s game tonight against the Dallas Stars.
Of note are the AHL implications of this move, which impact the affiliates of two franchises: the Montreal Canadiens and Cleveland Monsters. The two AHL teams are currently in a dogfight for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division, with the Belleville Senators in the mix as well. The Rocket currently occupy the fifth and final spot in the standings with 70 points, but they have just three remaining games while Cleveland has four.
The Rocket will play the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins tonight, a team that just recently got one of their better players reassigned back to them from an NHL recall. Meanwhile, the Monsters play the Griffins tonight, and with Hirose recalled Grand Rapids will be without their leading scorer for that game.
That’s a major break for the Monsters, meaning an (admittedly small) added benefit to this transaction is that it could help throw a wrench into the AHL playoff hopes of one of the Red Wings’ division rivals.
Robby Fabbri Shut Down For Remainder Of Season
Detroit Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde announced on Wednesday that forward Robby Fabbri is officially out for the rest of 2022-23 due to a lower-body injury.
In addition to the announcement about Fabbri, the Red Wings also announced that forward Taro Hirose has been reassigned to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Hirose, 26, made his season debut in last night’s 7-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins, playing 7:57. He’s continued to be one of Grand Rapids’ best players this season, leading the team in scoring with 15 goals, 39 assists, and 54 points in 64 games.
Fabbri has been dealing with a lower-body injury since March 8, and Lalonde said Fabbri will require a four-to-six-week recovery period from this point forward. However, he is expected to fully recover in time for the 2023-24 NHL season.
It’s an unfortunate break for Fabbri, who’s no stranger to significant injuries. He missed the entirety of the 2017-18 season and most of the 2018-19 season with a torn ACL and upper-body injury, respectively. Fabbri also missed the end of 2021-22 with another ACL injury, and an MCL injury cost him the first few months of the 2022-23 campaign.
Fabbri, 27, still managed to produce when healthy this season, scoring seven goals and nine assists in 28 games. He was acquired by the team in a trade with the St. Louis Blues in 2019.
Minor Moves: Hirose, Ferguson, Woll
Taro Hirose has been called up as an emergency loan to the Detroit Red Wings, according to CapFriendly. Hirose will see his first NHL action of the season if he appears in a game for the Wings, but has played sparingly with Detroit for parts of the past four seasons. He has just four goals and 16 assists in 57 career NHL games, but has been over the 50-point plateau in the AHL the past two seasons, including 15 goals and 39 assists for 54 points in 64 games this season. The Red Wings host the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight.
- Also among minor league transactions, goaltender Dylan Ferguson was sent down to the AHL by the Ottawa Senators, according to CapFriendly. Ferguson signed with the Senators earlier this month, and played well in two games with Ottawa, his first NHL action since 2017-18. He registered a .940 save percentage in those two games, and has a .935 save percentage in six games with the Belleville Senators this season. He also played five games for the Toronto Marlies before signing with Ottawa, and carried an .888 save percentage in those tilts. Ferguson held down the fort for the Sens on March 20, stopping 48-of-49 shots in a 2-1 win over the Pittsburg Penguins.
- Goaltender Joseph Woll was sent to the Toronto Marlies by the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to CapFriendly. Woll has played well in a short stint for the Maple Leafs, winning three of four games played with a .934 save percentage while allowing just eight goals in that span. He last played Sunday, stopping 23-of-25 shots in a 3-2 Maple Leafs win.
Detroit Red Wings Extend Taro Hirose
The Detroit Red Wings have reached an agreement with Taro Hirose on a two-year contract extension, keeping him in the organization and away from unrestricted free agency. The financial details of the deal have not yet been released.
Hirose, 25, would have qualified as a Group VI UFA this summer, after playing just 57 games to this point in his NHL career. Just 15 of those came this season but the young forward showed just how dangerous he could be at the minor league level.
In 59 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins, Hirose had 15 goals and 53 points. He’ll likely spend a good chunk of this new contract in the minor leagues as well, though he’ll have to clear waivers in order to do it.
A highly sought-after undrafted free agent in 2019 out of Michigan State University, Hirose has 20 points in his 57-game NHL career to this point, suggesting that there actually is some upside at that level if he ever gets a more prolonged opportunity. If not, he still represents a strong injury replacement for short-term stints, as he can step into a top-six or powerplay role if necessary.
There’s also always a chance that he catches the eye of the new coaching staff, with Jeff Blashill not returning. That battle will happen in training camp now that the contract negotiations are complete.